Cathode ray tube (CRT) terminals are becoming an ever increasingly popular means of communicating with computers and computerized data banks. Accordingly, in many computerized work environments, each individual work station is provided with its own CRT terminal.
In the past it was standard practice to mount the CRT and its associated electronic drive circuits inside a more or less rectangular cabinet that could be placed on the flat horizontal surface of a desk or other work surface. More recently, on account of an increased awareness of the effects or ergonomics on the efficiency of the human operator, CRT terminals have been provided with a mechanism whereby the angular orientation of the screen could be adjusted both about a vertical swivel axis and a horizontal tilt axis in order to better accommodate the needs and desires of different operators. U.S. Pat. No. 4,304,385 is considered to be exemplary of such prior art tilt and swivel mechanisms. In the particular device disclosed by that patent, the cable connecting the CRT terminal to supporting equipment such as a computer is passed through a conduit defined by the interior of the tilt and swivel mechanism. U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,067,976; 3,131,980; 3,701,073 and 4,106,830 disclose exemplary prior art mechanisms for adjustably supporting a television receiver or other electrically energizable apparatus, with the latter two patents teaching alternate ways of effecting external electrical connections to the electrical apparatus supported by the stand.
In addition to good operator ergonomics, electronic apparatus intended for field use must be maintained in proper working order and to this end complex equipment is desirably formed from field-replaceable modules.